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“At first because I didn’t trust her. Then because I didn’t trust myself around her.”
The tiger hesitates for a second, then says, “Why don’t you trust yourself around her?”
“Because I’m falling in love with her,” I hear myself say. A second later, the stone turns to acid in my mouth, and I spit it out, gagging at the bitter taste left behind.
But the damned thing gave out one question too late.
Now there’s no denying the way I feel about Willow. I know it, Hermione knows it, as does this tiger who’s looking pretty ashamed of himself all of a sudden.
And I’m about to find out why…
I nod toward the stone in Hermione’s hand, “Your turn. Let’s get to the bottom of this pile of shit and start digging our way out.”
“You don’t need the stone,” he says, in a raw, broken voice. “I’ll tell you the truth. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
And he does.
And then we verify that he’s telling the truth with the other truth stone.
And then I go upstairs to find Willow and break the news that we’d better start fucking with a purpose.
Fast.
Chapter Thirteen
Willow
Pacing the floor in Diana’s kitchen, I cast another impatient look toward the clock above the stove.
Where the devil is she?
It’s nine-thirty. If she doesn’t get here soon, I won’t have time to work with my pack gift before Maxim arrives at ten.
I suppose I could go it alone in the bathroom with the mirror to help me out, but I really wanted Diana’s guidance. She knows this pack and the dynamics of Human Side shifters far better than I do. She’ll know what questions to put to my gift to get answers as quickly as possible.
The irony that this is exactly what Maxim was trying to do the night he tied me up in his study isn’t lost on me, but it’s different now.
Firstly, I’m a willing participant, not a hostage.
Secondly, I trust Diana more than I trust Maxim.
Not a great sign considering she’s not the Thorn sibling I’m fated to marry, but…it’s the truth.
I want to trust Maxim, but he’s so confusing. One minute, he’s vulnerable and honest, granting me a glimpse into his innermost self. The next minute, he’s strutting around barking orders and ordering me to my room like I’m a child, not his future mate.
I mean, I guess I could find that kind of romantic if he were doing it to protect me, but that’s not the vibe I get. He locks me up to control me, not to keep me safe, and I don’t want to be controlled anymore. I either want to be an equal partner in making decisions that will affect my life and the safety of my future children or…
“Or what?” I mutter to the empty apartment.
I don’t know.
I can’t run from Maxim the way I ran from Pax. I don’t have anywhere left to run to. At least nowhere that would offer me a decent chance of survival. I imagine the outcast pack in St. Louis that offered my parents refuge would take me, too, but they’re a group of misfits and rejects. They have very little power and survive mostly by flying under the radar.
If a woman who features prominently in a prophecy that’s obsessed half the shifter world joined their ranks, the entire pack would be destroyed in a matter of weeks.
Maybe less.
I can’t bring that danger to their doorstep. It wouldn’t be right, which leaves…no one.
